Where Are They Now?

Let's face it: show business is a tough racket. There's a lot of highs and lows underneath all the bright lights and glittery junk, and it's the kind of business in which one literally is here today and gone tomorrow, but for any number of reasons. Typically, getting older can be a sure-fire career killer, especially if the commodity in  question happens to be a child star. For every Jodie Foster there is usually a Dana Plato. Truth be told, child performers historically tend to have it tougher than most everybody else. On the other hand, all is not doom-and-gloom in the world of the pancake make-up. Some lucky ones have been known to survive the slings and arrows of testy critics and a perpetually fickle public, and go on to achieve even greater heights of stardom. Or others manage to hang around the periphery of the industry, happy they are still well enough connected to continue drawing a generous paycheck doing whatever work they can find. Unfortunately, some vanish into obscurity, either intentionally or not, never to be seen or heard from again. It's a mixed bag in today's column, in which we take a fleeting glance at some of the stars of yesteryear, all of whom you will probably recognize from their respective gigs in years past. Some good news to report for the most part, some not so good. 

Tina Yothers
If you recognize that name, then you probably remember her from her stint as Michael J Fox's wisecracking little sister on the erstwhile NBC hit sitcom Family Ties; my main recollection of that show is her character making those well-timed wisecracks. She came from a show-biz family; her dad Robert was a TV producer, and she has three brothers, Jeffrey, Randy and Corey, all of whom cut their teeth as child actors in television commercials. Young Tina started appearing in TV spots at the tender age of three. She transitioned from there to roles in TV movies, leading to the gig for which she is best remembered, Jennifer Keaton on the aforementioned comedy series. That show ran from 1982 to 1989. Since its cancellation, Tina has kept a relatively low profile. She sports a sort of Goth look today, having since clipped those flowing blonde locks that endeared her to TV viewers by the millions and dyed her hair black. Her acting roles since the eighties have been few and far between. In the 90s she formed a rock band with brother Cory called Jaded, which released one CD. From 2004 thru 2007, she kept busy with theater work after a nine year absence from acting. She has also made a couple of celebrity reality TV appearances. As of this writing, it appears for all intents and purposes that Tina Yothers has retired from performing; her current role is that of full-time wife, mother and homemaker.

Jeff Conaway
This one is kinda tragic. Conaway started out young, working as a child model before transitioning to work as a child actor. He appeared in TV commercials on the side while studying at NYU. He made his film debut in 1971 in a film called Jennifer on my Mind. Shortly thereafter, he landed his breakout role in the original Broadway production of Grease, ultimately playing the lead for some two and a half years. Conaway would also appear in the Hollywood adaptation of the musical, but with pal John Travolta playing the lead this time. He kept busy with a variety of television work in the 1970s, which eventually led to the role for which he is probably best remembered, the "beefcake" character on the classic sitcom Taxi in 1978. (I know, it didn't seem like that long to me, either). After his first year on the series, the substance abuse problems that would plague Conaway for the rest of his life began to surface. He did manage to survive three seasons on Taxi before he was fired. Luckily, he was still a bankable enough performer to land plenty of work on other series throughout the 80s and 90s, including a five year stint on the popular syndicated sci-fi series Babylon 5. As the new millennium unfolded, however, years of drug and alcohol abuse would finally take their toll on the actor; fans were shocked to witness a clearly debilitated Conaway on the Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew reality series. Conaway died of pneumonia on May 27, 2011, at the age of sixty.

Kim Fields
Kim broke into the business as a child actress during the 1970s, appearing in the short-lived Demond Wilson vehicle Baby, I'm Back as the daughter, and on Good Times as the Janet Jackson's character's friend. The role for which Kim is best-remembered came about when the decision was made to spin-off the smash hit sitcom Diff'rent Strokes starring the housekeeper character played by Charlotte Rae. That show, about a fictitious boarding school for (mostly well-off) girls in upstate New York, was called The Facts of Life. As "Tootie", Kim was the designated scene-stealer on "Facts" for the duration of its nine-year run. Happily, her life and career avoided the kinds of pitfalls suffered by her young contemporaries on the "Facts" parent series. She scored a second hit sitcom (not an easy task) with Living Single from 1993 to 1998, co-starring Queen Latifah and Kim Coles. Here's a bit of trivia: Kim's mom Chip (you may remember her from her turn on the old "Spider-Man" TV series from the 70s starring Nicholas Hammond) played her TV mom on both "Facts" and "Single". I'm thinking that may be the only time that has ever happened in the history of the medium. Although Kim has not exactly retired from acting (you may still catch her in the occasional guest-starring TV role), nowadays she is mostly doing a lot of directing work. In 2007, Kim married and gave birth to her first child.

Joe Piscopo
Much to his eternal chagrin, Piscopo was generally regarded as second-banana to Eddie Murphy during their run together on Saturday Night Live in the 80s. It's probably not fair to compartmentalize him that way; he was certainly a talented performer in his own right on that show, but it is fair to say that Murphy's breakout transition to superstardom did marginalize Piscopo to some extent. The irony is that both Piscopo and Murphy got their break on SNL as members of the infamous "new" cast on Saturday Night 80, NBC's futile attempt (the first of many over the years) to perpetuate the popular sketch comedy series in the wake of the "Not Ready for Prime Time" period coming to a close at the start of the decade. As fate would have it, they were the only two cast members who managed to avoid the axe when the rest of the new cast (including Charles Rocket and Gilbert Gottfried) were sent packing mid-season. Piscopo scored on SNL with a host of funny and durable characters: who could forget his takes on Frank Sinatra, Tom Snyder, or for that matter, as himself delivering his obnoxiously loud sports commentaries on the fake news segments? Since leaving SNL in 1984, Piscopo has kept rather busy making numerous appearances in film, television and theater, in addition to voice-over work. His trademark "I'm from Jersey" character on SNL may have been Piscopo poking fun at his own hometown; he really is from Jersey, and that is where he currently still resides. At this time, Piscopo has made no apparent plans to run for public office.